Mining is so deeply rooted in the Brazilian State of Minas Gerais, that it runs in the blood of almost every single citizen – including my own. The smell of burned iron is familiar and oddly comforting. This has resulted in a radically changed - and decaying - landscape

The collapse of a mining (tailing) dam last November in the Brazilian State of Minas Gerais caused one of the biggest environmental disasters in the country’s history. It resulted in over 10.5 billion gallons of mud overwhelming smalls towns and one of the country’s most important watersheds.

The full extent of the human and environmental devastation caused by this accident, and by open pit mines more generally, are obscured by the region’s mountainous terrain relatively inaccessible to the local population.

Working in collaboration with a pilot I trust, I have been photographing Minas Gerais from above, sometimes flying in forbidden air space. I have not limited myself to aerial photography as I expand my investigation to the ground. I am currently working with 4x5 and 8x10 large format film cameras, DSLRs, a drone, an OSMO and GoPros.